Stree gobbles up Paltan, Laila Majnu

During a year when Bollywood has had more hits than any year in living memory, it is shocking to discover the abysmally low attendance for a J P Dutta war drama Paltan and the Imtiaz Ali backed love legend Laila Majnu.

Both the films opened to collections as low as 5 -10 percent. Some multiplex theatres are now considering replacing shows of the two ill- fated new releases with last week’s hit Stree. A multiplex personnel observed, “J P Dutta and Imtiaz Ali are not big names today. Dutta had his hits in the war genre 15-20 years ago. Imtiaz Ali ‘s last two films Tamasha and When Harry Met Sejal were flops. So there is nothing here to pull audiences in.”

The newcomers in Laila Majnu have also not been appreciated much. Though the year is exceptional for the Hindi film industry it isn’t a good time for newcomers or for directors making a comeback.

But it seems a favourable time for horror films.Stree is a huge hit and The Nun, the new segment of The Conjuring franchise has opened far better than all the Hindi releases.